Data Storage Startup Datto Acquired In Deal, Merges With IT Firm

Connecticut’s billion-dollar startup, the cloud storage company Datto Inc. in Norwalk, has been acquired by Vista Equity Partners, a private equity and venture capital firm, the two companies announced Thursday.

As part of the deal, Datto will merge with Autotask Corp., an information technology business management provider that is in Vista’s portfolio. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The deal brings expertise and investment to Datto and will help it expand globally, he said.

“It’s incredibly complementary to what we have to offer,” Borcherding said in an interview. “We’re on a path to grow internationally, but it takes years.”

Austin McChord, founder and chief executive officer of Datto, will be CEO of the newly combined company. Autotask CEO Mark Cattini will be a strategic adviser to the board of directors.

When the transaction closes before the end of 2017, the combined companies will have about 1,300 employees in nine countries and 13,000 customers who provide service to more than 500,000 small to medium-sized businesses. The deal will lead to an expansion of service to millions of small businesses, McChord said.

Datto employs 883 workers worldwide, with 434 in Norwalk.

The companies tout the combination of Autotask’s IT management with Datto’s data protection in operations through service delivery, backup and disaster recovery, networking continuity and remote monitoring and management.

“This unique combination of talent with a track record of success marks a new chapter that will make an even bigger impact” for Datto’s business partners, McChord said.

Vista Equity Partners — with offices in Austin, Texas; San Francisco; Chicago; and Oakland, Calif. — has more than $30 billion in capital commitments and invests in software, data and technology-enabled organizations.

The volume of data in the cloud is rising as more users rely on digital technology. Datto sells data backup, disaster recovery and business continuity programs with the promise to keep companies “running no matter what.”

The state helped Datto, founded in 2007, expand in Connecticut with $6 million in a low-interest loan and grants in exchange for job creation and to help with its headquarters expansion several years ago in Norwalk.

Catherine Smith, the state’s economic development commissioner, called Datto “the tech industry at its greatest.”

McChord started Datto, which named by combining “data” and “ditto,” with $80,000 borrowed on a credit card.

The privately held company is valued at $1 billion, earning the distinction of being Connecticut’s first unicorn, the name given to a private company valued in the 10 figures.